Staff of Darkness
by Suppi Cat
Summary: A staff, though of power, is only wood and can be broken, but darkness can seem to last forever. When time has grown old in the reckoning of the Sakura Cards, they create for themselves a new Darkness. Sakura may look to Yue, but in the end, Fate decides.


A/N: La. There it is. I've finally done some writing lately! ^_^v Hope you like.

There was a knock on the door, and Yue jumped. His grandmother usually wanted him to open the door if possible, but at this moment, he was in his true form, a much more satisfying persona. Ever since Sakura's magic had grown through it's elementary weaknesses and abilities; Yue could change back and forth whenever he wanted. Unfortunately, the change still required a short time, and Yue didn't have a minute to spare. Plus, Yue, as opposed to Yukito, was still and most likely would forever be a vague subject to his grandparents. Of course they weren't totally oblivious; they knew there were magic abilities present, proven by a number of factors. Yue could adjust and dramatically slow his aging if desired, for one. Normally, this wasn't really an issue, but recently he had started to make a few small adaptations…And also, his grandparents knew of Clow and his relation to Clow's magic. However, it still scared them to see Yue walking around the house instead of Yukito, so Yue avoided the situation at all costs. 

But now what could he do? Someone was at the door and shouldn't be kept waiting. Yue wasn't exactly sure where his grandmother was; he wished she were out shopping with his grandfather. Maybe if he just stepped very lightly and tried not to attract attention…

He managed to get down the stairs without squeaking too heavily, slip past the study where his grandmother was at her desk, and edge down the hall past the kitchen and the living room to the front door. The poor person on the other side must be highly impatient by now--

"Yue-saaan! I mean, gomenasai!" Sakura squealed and fumbled with her words, finally ending with a few very deep bows in quick succession. Her long golden-brown hair flopped up and down on her back until she finally straightened, when it ended up a bit disheveled. In contrast, her bangs seemed stuck in one smooth curl, as if she had just finished styling them with a combing iron. Sakura stood with a good posture that made her appear a few inches taller than her naturally short height. While she was still growing, she probably would never get above five foot three. Her wide green eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, and she looked longingly into Yue's violet irises. Suddenly a pink tinge crept up her neck, and she fumbled with something she was holding behind her back. "Anou, Yue-san, I don't know if you like, I mean, demo…" 

Yue squinted curiously. At first he had been taken completely by surprise, and had almost fallen backwards at Sakura's exclamation, but now he was interested. 

"Yukito! Who's out there? Yukito, what are you doing?" his grandmother suddenly called, her voice coming closer as she walked from the study. "I heard someone yelling!"

"Ack! Quick, come on!" Yue stumbled out the door, dragging Sakura unceremoniously around the corner of the house. 

"Yukito!" his grandmother's voice called out right behind him. 

"Itai, itai, itai…!" Sakura winced as she was pulled off the porch, her feet banging every other step on the way down. 

Finally, when they were secure behind a large plum tree in the side yard, and Yue was sure that his grandmother had not bothered to come find him, Sakura sighed discontentedly and asked what that had all been for.

"I can't let her see me like, well, this." He made a sweeping gesture of himself. "She gets rather scared."

"Oh." She seemed to have forgotten what she had come for in the first place. "Gomen…I think I've really disrupted your day. I'm still such a child." Sakura looked around, avoiding eye contact. 

"Perhaps you have not changed entirely since you were young,"

Sakura shot him a look that implied he wasn't supposed to back up her faults, but Yue continued,

"But that's what I love about you. You are still Sakura." He had extended his hands and clasped them around one of hers. 

For a moment neither of them said anything. Sakura looked slightly taken-aback and Yue looked calm and resolute, like the Yue Sakura had always known and loved. Abruptly, Sakura coughed in an obvious attempt to ease the tension. "I remembered. This-" she held out a small box wrapped in yellow and blue paper with a tag on it that read "For Yue-san", "is for you." She gave a small bow. 

Yue smiled to himself. She had never stopped calling him with a "san" suffix. Slowly and carefully he slid his index finger into the slit on the side of the box; the paper tearing neatly along it's edge. He tore open the other side as well, and then gently pulled the paper from the tape on the top. Inside the wrapping was a small yellow chocolate box. He lifted it to his nose and smelled the chocolate inside, the aroma curling his mouth into a warm smile. "Arigatou, Sakura-san. I will enjoy these very much." He bowed, and then, straightening up, took her hand in his once more. "Shall I walk you home?" 

She gave a small, peaceful smile, her emerald eyes warm. "Yue-san…you know you don't have to repay me for a small box of chocolates."

"Do you think this walk is the repayment?" Yue laughed kindly. "No, I will do something much more than that for you."

Sakura laughed. It was such a fine day. Even though the sky was cloudy, the air was warm and there was no promise of rain or storm. The flowers were in bloom and the trees were all deep green, their leaves rustling in the gentle wind that passed. 

"Ne, Sakura…isn't the festival coming up?" Yue asked.

"Hai, I think so! I always look forward to the festivals. Remember that time you won me a giant white bunny?" Sakura giggled.

"Oh, yeah! And Syaoran was there…and your brother…and…" Yue said, leading her on.

Sakura laughed. "They always seemed to hate each other, but I don't think it was true. Do you and Toya still spend time together?"

"All the time! Goodness Sakura, you must be so wrapped up in high school you don't notice anything anymore." he joked.

"It's true! High school is very difficult; I never appreciated my brother's work! But still, it's fun. I'm glad most of my childhood friends are still with me."

They walked in silence for a while, their arms swinging gently with each stride. 

Finally, Yue spoke. "You still have your Sakura cards, correct?"

Sakura blinked at the unexpected question. "Yes, I believe so."

"You must always keep them; you know that, Sakura?" his voice was suddenly harder and grave.

"Yes, Yue-san! I must always keep them…" she responded, affirming the thought in her mind. "Why are you worried, all of a sudden?"

"It is not all of a sudden, Sakura-san. It has been many years since you last picked up those cards. Even if you don't realize it, those cards have grown with you, and have now far out-paced your growth. They are quite strong, I'd say."

"I never thought about that before. I guess they could do a lot now, couldn't they?"

"More than they should." Yue answered, without looking down.

For a while, Sakura didn't respond. "Are you okay, Yue-san?"

"I'm fine." He grinned. "I shouldn't have you upset when you were so kind to me." 

"Ne, it was nothing. But!" Sakura added, "you could give me one of those chocolates…" she said, poking him and extending her palm hopefully. 

"Hai, I think I could do that!" Yue stopped on the steps of her house and tore the plastic around the chocolate box. Opening the lid, he tried to find one she would most like. Unfortunately, the chocolates, all round and smooth, looked identical, and didn't communicate what might be inside them. "Sakura…anou…"

She closed her eyes. "I'll take a blind guess!" She pulled out one from the corner, bit into it, and her mouth formed a huge grin. "Coconut cream! My favorite!" 

When she looked back at Yue, she found him as Yukito. "I must say good-bye now, Sakura-san." He hugged her, and together they waved to each other as Yukito went inside. 

A/N: Please review! I know it needs so much work, so please tell me what to improve! This will be a many-chapter story. ^_^


End file.
